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272
Constantine the Great
Constantine was the son of a co-emperor, when he came to power he fought hard but at last he became emperor of all the Roman empire moving the capital to Byzantium and calling it Constantinople. -
Period: 324 to 337
Major achievements: Constantine
Constantine's greatest achievements are:
First of all moving the capital from Rome to Byzantium calling it Constantinople.Became christian and ended up the persecution.In 313 he declared the Edict of Milan which allowed Christians to freely practice their religion.He built a gigantic arch to commemorate his victory over Maxentius -
346
Theodosius
Theodosius is a great emperor with a very interesting history behind him. He faced many problems but still accomplished considerable things to mention. Also he was only 11 when he became emperor which is very surprising. -
Period: 346 to 395
Achievements: Theodosius
Major achievements and facts :
Problems with the Huns lead by Attila, and some other tribes First construction of the Theodosian Wall with brick and limestone for earthquakes There was another christian persecution Started with ideas of Orthodox christianity -
527
Justinian and Theodora
Justinian is well known among the byzantines for being a rough emperor. During his rule ups and downs happened for the empire and his reputation. As we now what would Justinian be without his empress Theodora which is one of the most important women in all Byzantine history. -
Period: 527 to 565
Achievements in Justinian and Theodora's rule:
He made a big expansion of the empire that advanced to macedonia, claiming those land for the Byzantine empire. Also he somehow rebuilded Constantinople under the Justinian Code which are a set of new laws made by Justinian and old roman laws. The most crucial act to mention from him is the Hagia sophia, the most beautiful and most important church for all the Byzantine Empire. -
Period: 610 to 641
Heraclius
Emperor Heraclius is considered one of the best in the Byzantine history, this doesn't mean he was perfect. During his time as emperor he repaired a christian church, fought bravely a war to Persian, He adopted greek as the official language of the empire and reconquered land lost in previous ruling. -
752
Irene
Irene is a very special emperor because at difference than others she is a women. Even though she cared a lot about people, for the lack of preparedness she didn't reign as good as other emperors. Her ,most interesting facts are:
- Irene favored the restoration of the use of icons
- Killed her husband to become emperor
-Was co-emperor with his son Constantine IV
-led a revolt against his son -
Period: 976 to 1025
Basil II
Nick named the Bulgar slayer, Basil II was a fearsome emperor who had to defend the empire against the Bulgar's. Some of his most incredible achievements:- he created a machine to fight the Bulgar which was some how like a catapult but had to be operated by 400 men
- Fought against the Bulgar's and successfully defended the empire
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978
Zoe
Zoe was the sister of Theodora the co-empress during Justinian's rule. Some of the achievements she made were
- She gave more power to the senate
- Gave resources to poor people
-Poisoned husband to rule with his lover
